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For our regular ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û Blog readers, you'll notice a new site at the same old address. Today we launched the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û Blog of Rights. It's a fresh take on civil liberties news and action. And to kick off the launch of our new blog, we've assembled a team of guest bloggers to join us in a symposium on torture.

Today saw the release of the much-anticipated Department Of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General’s report revealing that officials at the highest level of government — including the White House — received reports on the abuse of prisoners in U.S. military custody overseas as early as 2002. This, in addition to the recently released DOJ memos authorizing abusive interrogation techniques and the that he knew top officials were discussing and authorizing the use of torture by the CIA, make this week’s symposium on Torture and America especially timely.

Today, the Torture and America Symposium features:

• Salon.com's Glenn Greenwald, "Growing Responsibility for the Bush Torture Regime"
• Daily Kos' Joan McCarter, "Torture: The "Professional Disease" of Our Nation"
• Eunomia/American Conservative's Daniel Larison, "On the Necessity of an Irrational Enemy"

And don't miss ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û Executive Director Anthony D. Romero's welcome message to our new and returning readers.

Tomorrow, look for contributions to our Torture and American Symposium from Christy Hardin Smith of Firedoglake, Nicole Belle of Crooks & Liars, Digby of Hullabaloo, author Paul Verhaeghen, and ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û Senior Legislative Counsel Chris Anders.

And fret not: it's not just all-torture, all the time. The ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û Blog of Rights will serve as an online home for the discussion of all crucial civil liberties issues, including privacy, freedom of speech and religion, capital punishment, reproductive freedom, racial justice, voter rights, and the rights of immigrants, women, and prisoners. We'll be writing about news, current legislation, and the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û's litigation and efforts to defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.